Development of urban bird indicators using data from monitoring schemes in two large European cities

Bird monitoring projects have provided valuable data for developing biological indicators to evaluate the state of natural and agricultural habitats. However, fewer advances have been made in urban environments. In this study we used bird monitoring data from 2002 to 2012 in two cities with different climates (Brussels and Barcelona), to generate two multi–species urban indicators to evaluate temporal trends on abundance of urban avifauna. To do this we used two different conceptual approaches, one based on a list of widespread species in European cities (WSEC) and another based exclusively on species widespread at city level (WCS) regardless of the birds occurring in other cities. The two indicators gave a similar general pattern, although we found a 3% difference in the mean annual change in both cities, thus suggesting that the values provided by urban indicators may differ depending on the conceptual approach and, hence, by the species list used to generate them. However, both indicators may have their own value and could be treated as complementary indices

Development of an urban bird indicator: using data from monitoring schemes in two large european cities

[eng] Development of urban bird indicators using data from monitoring schemes in two large European cities.— Bird monitoring projects have provided valuable data for developing biological indicators to evaluate the state of natural and agricultural habitats. However, fewer advances have been made in urban environments. In this study we used bird monitoring data from 2002 to 2012 in two cities with different climates (Brussels and Barcelona), to generate two multi–species urban indicators to evaluate temporal trends on abundance of urban avifauna. To do this we used two different conceptual approaches, one based on a list of widespread species in European cities (WSEC) and another based exclusively on species widespread at city level (WCS) regardless of the birds occurring in other cities. The two indicators gave a similar general pattern, although we found a 3% difference in the mean annual change in both cities, thus suggesting that the values provided by urban indicators may differ depending on the conceptual approach and, hence, by the species list used to generate them. However, both indicators may have their own value and could be treated as complementary indices.[cat] Desarrollo de indicadores de aves urbanas a partir de datos de sistemas de monitoreo en dos grandes ciudades europeas.— Los proyectos de monitoreo de aves han proporcionado datos valiosos para el desarrollo de indicadores biológicos que evalúan el estado de los hábitats naturales y agrícolas; sin embargo, los avances han sido menores en los ambientes urbanos. En este estudio se utilizaron los datos del monitoreo de aves de dos ciudades climáticamente diferentes (Bruselas y Barcelona; período 2002–2010) para generar dos indicadores urbanos multiespecíficos que valorasen las tendencias temporales en la abundancia del conjunto de las aves urbanas. Para hacer esto, utilizamos dos enfoques conceptuales distintos, uno basado en una lista de especies de amplia distribución en las ciudades europeas (WSEC) y otro basado exclusivamente en especies de amplia distribución a nivel de ciudad (WSC), independientemente de las aves de otras ciudades. Los dos indicadores dieron un patrón general similar, aunque un 3% de diferencia entre ellos en cuanto a los valores de cambio promedio anual se encontró en ambas ciudades. Esto sugiere que los valores producidos por los indicadores urbanos pueden diferir dependiendo de la aproximación conceptual y, por tanto, por la lista de especies utilizada para generarlos. Ambos indicadores pueden tener su propio interés y pueden ser tratados como complementarios

Contrasting population trends of Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) across Europe

The greatest loss of biodiversity in the EU has occurred on agricultural land. The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is one of the many numerous and widespread European farmland breeding bird species showing major population declines linked to European agricultural intensification. Here we present results based on monitoring data collected since 1975 in 24 countries to examine the influence of changing extent of grassland and cattle abundance (based on results of earlier studies showing the importance of lowland cattle grazed grassland for the species), wintering provenance and temperature on national breeding population trends of Starlings across Europe. Positive Starling population trends in Central-East Europe contrast with negative trends in North and West Europe. Based on this indicative approach, we found some support for the importance of cattle stock and no support for grassland, temperature or wintering provenance to explain Starling population trends in Europe. However, we acknowledge such a European-wide analysis may conceal regional differences in responses and suggest that currently accessible national land use datamight be insufficient to describe the detailed current changes in animal husbandry and grassland management that may be responsible for changes in food availability and hence breeding Starling abundance and their differences across Europe. Reviewing results from local studies relating Starling population trends to local agricultural change offer contradictory results, suggesting complex interacting processes at work. We recommend combining national datasets on demography, land-use/agricultural practices and from autecological research to better explain the reasons for contrasting Starling trends across Europe, to enable us to predict how changing agriculture will affect Starlings and potentially suggest mitigation measures to restore local populations where possible.Peer reviewe

Long-term and large-scale multispecies dataset tracking population changes of common European breeding birds

Around fifteen thousand fieldworkers annually count breeding birds using standardized protocols in 28 European countries. The observations are collected by using country-specific and standardized protocols, validated, summarized and finally used for the production of continent-wide annual and long-term indices of population size changes of 170 species. Here, we present the database and provide a detailed summary of the methodology used for fieldwork and calculation of the relative population size change estimates. We also provide a brief overview of how the data are used in research, conservation and policy. We believe this unique database, based on decades of bird monitoring alongside the comprehensive summary of its methodology, will facilitate and encourage further use of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme results.publishedVersio

Development of an urban bird indicator: using data from monitoring schemes in two large european cities

[eng] Development of urban bird indicators using data from monitoring schemes in two large European cities.— Bird monitoring projects have provided valuable data for developing biological indicators to evaluate the state of natural and agricultural habitats. However, fewer advances have been made in urban environments. In this study we used bird monitoring data from 2002 to 2012 in two cities with different climates (Brussels and Barcelona), to generate two multi–species urban indicators to evaluate temporal trends on abundance of urban avifauna. To do this we used two different conceptual approaches, one based on a list of widespread species in European cities (WSEC) and another based exclusively on species widespread at city level (WCS) regardless of the birds occurring in other cities. The two indicators gave a similar general pattern, although we found a 3% difference in the mean annual change in both cities, thus suggesting that the values provided by urban indicators may differ depending on the conceptual approach and, hence, by the species list used to generate them. However, both indicators may have their own value and could be treated as complementary indices.[cat] Desarrollo de indicadores de aves urbanas a partir de datos de sistemas de monitoreo en dos grandes ciudades europeas.— Los proyectos de monitoreo de aves han proporcionado datos valiosos para el desarrollo de indicadores biológicos que evalúan el estado de los hábitats naturales y agrícolas; sin embargo, los avances han sido menores en los ambientes urbanos. En este estudio se utilizaron los datos del monitoreo de aves de dos ciudades climáticamente diferentes (Bruselas y Barcelona; período 2002–2010) para generar dos indicadores urbanos multiespecíficos que valorasen las tendencias temporales en la abundancia del conjunto de las aves urbanas. Para hacer esto, utilizamos dos enfoques conceptuales distintos, uno basado en una lista de especies de amplia distribución en las ciudades europeas (WSEC) y otro basado exclusivamente en especies de amplia distribución a nivel de ciudad (WSC), independientemente de las aves de otras ciudades. Los dos indicadores dieron un patrón general similar, aunque un 3% de diferencia entre ellos en cuanto a los valores de cambio promedio anual se encontró en ambas ciudades. Esto sugiere que los valores producidos por los indicadores urbanos pueden diferir dependiendo de la aproximación conceptual y, por tanto, por la lista de especies utilizada para generarlos. Ambos indicadores pueden tener su propio interés y pueden ser tratados como complementarios